Lock for fastening for railway and other carriage doors and the like.



. J. BITHELL. LOCK 0R FASTENING FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGE DOORS ANDTHE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 19, 1912.

" Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLKNOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, D c.

J BITHELL LOOK 0R FASTENING FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGE DOORS AND THELIKE.

' IAPPLIGATION FILED MAR. 19, 1912.

Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET rnro LOCK OR FASTENING FGR RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGEDOORS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed March 19, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN BITHELL, a subject of the King of Great Britainand Ireland, and resident of Newtown, -Wigan, England, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Looks or Fastenings for Railwayand other Carriage Doors and the like, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention refers to railway carriage door and like looks orfastenings which automatically lock the doors and keep them securelyfastened while the train is in motion, and has for its object to providea novel construction of fastening which is pneumatically operated by afan, or other means for compressing air, controlled by the wheels of thecarriage.

According to the invention a box-like casing is let into the jamb of thedoorway or into the framework of the carriage adjacent to the usuallatch-like fastening. In said casing are two compartments in one ofwhich is arranged a lever and in the other of which is a vane or air-boxmounted on a spindle common to the two. In the front of the chambercontaining the lever is a slot into which the ordinary latch of the doorpasses when the door closes. Leading to the chamber containing the airbox is a pipe through which air is circulated when the train is inmotion to lift or operate the air box which in turn brings the leverinto the path of the latch to prevent it being released from the slot toopen the door.

Upon the accompanying drawin Figure 1 illustrates the edge of a doorcasing or framework with the invention applied. Fig. 2 illustrates a.view of the casing with the front removed. Figs. 8 and 4t are verticalcross-sections taken respectively on lines a2-00 and y of Fig. 2. Fig. 5illustrates a carriage or coach showing an example of how a series ofthe looks or fastenings may be connected to means for supplying orconducting air to operate the fastenings.

In carrying out the invention a box-like casing is provided comprising afront or face plate a in which is cut the usual slot a for receiving thelatch, and chambers or compartments Z), c. Extending through bothcompartments is a spindle cl upon which are mounted the air box 6, inthe chamber 6, and the lever f, in the chamber 0. In the floor of thechamber 12 is an inlet opening Z) which permits of air being ad-Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. 21, 1913.

Serial No. 684,897.

mitted to the chamber to act on the air-box while at the top of saidchamber Z) is an outlet or exhaust opening 79 The air-box and lever areso designed that, in their normal position, they lie as represented inFigs. 3 and a respectively. WVith the parts so arranged and the cover orplate of the casing secured in position the casing is let or fixed intothe edge of the framework of the carriage as shown in Fig. 1, that is tosay, with the slot at arranged to receive the latch of the door as inthe case of the ordinary plate.

Connected to the o ening b will be a pipe 9 leading through tieframework beneath the carriage, where it may connect to a conduit it,see Fig. 5. Communicating with the conduit is a fan driven from one orother of the wheels, which fan, with the train in motion, will force airthrough the conduit ib into the pipes 9, there being one of these latterto each door, to act on the air box 0. On the air box being raised oroperated, under the force of the air, the lever f is forced and heldagainst the back of the plate a. With the latch extending into the slot0, while the lever f is thus held, the removal of the latch from theslot is impossible as the lever f will prevent the raising or turning ofthe latch sufficiently to allow it to become clear of the slot in theplate a. To prevent any undue strain being put on the lever f a stop orblock a is provided in the upper part of the chamber 0, against whichthe lever bears when in its operative position.

The air, after acting upon the air-box will leave the chamber 6 throughthe open ing 6 and will usually be conducted beneath the carriagethrough a pipe or air way i indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. Thisair way i as well as the pipe 9 will be arranged in the edge of theframing immediately beneath the beading so as to be readily accessible.When the air pressure in the air-box e diminishes, that is when thetrain ceases to move the parts will assume their normal position and thelever will be moved clear of the opening a. While the lever will at alltimes permit of the latch being passed into the slot at it will onlypermit of its removal after the train has stopped.

It will be understood that instead of using a fan for creating thenecessary flow of air to the chamber 6 other and suitable aircompressingmeans operated by the wheels may be provided. Also the arrangement andconstruction of casing, air-box and lever may be modified withoutdeparting from the nature of this invention, the chief feature of whichis to provide means which may be operated pneumatically from the wheelsto prevent the opening of railway carriage doors while the train is inmotion and to automatically release the latches of the doors when thetrain stops to permit of the doors being opened in the ordinary way.

What" I claim is 1. In combination in railway carriages, means wherebythe doors may be latched when closed, means whereby. the latches may beprevented being operated to release the doors but which normally lieclear of the .rlatches, further means which, on being operated by thewheels of the carriage, pneumatically operate the said latch-controllingmeans to lock the door latches, substantially as herein set forth.

2. In means for automatically looking or Copies of this patent may beobtained for closed, a lever within one of such cham bers and an air boxin the other chamber, an axis to which both the lever and boX areconnected and about which they are designed to rotate pipes opening intothe chamber containing the air'boX, and means operated by the carriageWheels for forcing air through the chamber containing the box andthereby operating the boX and with it the lever, to prevent opening ofthe door substantially as herein set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN BITHELL.

l/Vitnesses:

P. D. BAILEY, W. GUNN.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents; Washington,D. 0.

